On Saturday afternoon, the ETSU Buccaneers proved that a total package of offense and defense can go far as they defeated the Elon Phoenix 31-15 in a big Homecoming contest.
“We were trying to get back on our feet,” ETSU quarterback Jatavis Sanders said.
Backed behind an overwhelming offensive attack of 287 yards passing from Sanders with four touchdowns to Cecil Moore, the Bucs did just that and exploded onto the Phoenix throughout the entire afternoon.
Moore’s four touchdowns broke a school record, which was previously held by Tim Turner in 2000, Chris Beatty in 1994 and Jeff Johnson in 1993 and ’94.
“We knew that we were a better team,” Sanders said. “We just had to come out and get a win going into the Furman game. We have been frustrated, but Cecil came out and made it a lot easier for me.”
“I’m just glad we won,” Moore said. “I had a weird feeling before the game, and I just felt good out there. Jatavis and the line were excellent, it just shows that we’ve gotta keep improving every day.
However, it was an amazing nine-sack defensive performance, including four sacks a piece from Lamar Beam and Justin Reinier that kept Elon from making a dangerous comeback.
Although many people were excited about the victory, the aftermath of the game took an opposing turn, as Reinier was severely injured in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. It was all ETSU coach Paul Hamilton could think about after the game.
“I really hurt for Justin,” said Hamilton, “It was a difficult way to end the game. At times we looked like a good football team, but he played an outstanding game. It’s a real difficult injury, and it is difficult for us. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but somebody will have to step up this week.
“We got in a rhythm offensively, and you could see that we were in the game and we had some confidence. We were not as consistent as we needed to be, but we’ve just got to build.”
The game went both ways early, but it was the Bucs who got the upstart in the contest. Gaven Varner and Andrew Nuckolls made some excellent plays for ETSU, setting up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to Moore.
The Bucs scored again after a 50-yard pass to Nuckolls, when Sanders tossed a seven-yarder to Moore, giving the Bucs a 14-0 advantage.
ETSU missed a field goal after some nice rushing plays from Varner in the second quarter, but an interception from Montreal Harkley with some nice plays by Kareem Coffin set up an 18-yard strike from Sanders to Moore, giving the Bucs a 21-0 edge at the end of the half.
The Bucs opened the third quarter with some tough defense. Reinier delivered all four of his sacks in the period, with Lamar Beam and Mike Cornegay providing some serious shots to the Elon offense.
ETSU opened their offense back up with some catches from Varner and Michael Rader, setting up a 21-yard touchdown from Sanders to Moore.
Elon climbed onto the scoreboard on the second play of their next drive, with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Larrey Burney to Arketa Banks. The Bucs then pulled out their bag of tricks with a great 51-yard return by Nuckolls to help set up a 25-yard field goal from Jon Godfrey.
Elon capitalized on the next ETSU possession, recovering a fumble by Deshannon Gamble taken by Calvin Sutton. Rashaud Palmer blew up for Elon with a 3-yard touchdown run, on the play that Reinier was injured.
It wouldn’t be enough for the Phoenix, as the Bucs rolled to the win during Homecoming.
“It was different, I’m glad we won,” Lamar Beam said. “It made me really sick in the stomach when Justin went down, but we came out defensively and went on them.”
“I was a slasher tonight,” said Nuckolls, “I just contributed anything that I could out there. We showed that we can mesh really well.”
It was a learning experience for the Elon football team, who will join the Southern Conference next season.
“I thought we played much better on defense today,” said Elon coach Al Seagraves. “We dug ourselves in a hole with turnovers early. We’ve had a tough schedule these last four to five years, so we believe it will not be that big of a change in this conference.”
Hamilton was pleased with his rushing and defensive tactics on the afternoon.
“Our running game was good at times, and our pass protection was pretty darn good,” Hamilton said. “I’m proud of these guys and the way they all contributed. It was a win we certainly needed, I really felt like we needed to play good this week.”
“We have Furman next week here at home, so we’ll see if we can come back with the same fire.”
The sixth-ranked Paladins will bring a hard game to Johnson City next week, but the Bucs believe they can handle them fairly well.
“I think we can beat them,” said Moore, “We’ve got to have a good week of practice and just come out and play our best.”
“They’re a good team,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to come out and play them and prepare hard.

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